This year marks Google’s transition across its ecosystem software to a 64-bit framework: beginning in August, 64-bit builds will be mandatory for Android TV and Google TV applications, with this mandate soon extending to Wear OS as well.
Starting September 15, 2026, any new application submission, alongside updates to existing ones, must include a 64-bit counterpart in addition to the 32-bit version. Applications failing to meet these specifications face removal from the app store. Given that many smartwatches currently run on 32-bit versions of Wear OS, this presents an obstacle to moving the entire platform to a 64-bit foundation. However, Google has noted that the “vast majority” of developers have already integrated 64-bit builds of their software.
Past precedence suggests that requiring both 64-bit and 32-bit app versions will ultimately drive the entire smartwatch ecosystem to adopt 64-bit architecture exclusively. A similar mandate for the main Android platform was introduced by Google in 2019, culminating in the release of Android 14 in 2024, which is purely 64-bit. Consequently, it would come as no shock if Wear OS follows suit and is fully migrated to 64-bit within the coming years.
Google claims this updated architecture is set to boost software performance and deliver a smoother user experience. An additional benefit lies in enhanced security, as 64-bit platforms are necessary for advanced memory tagging technologies. Furthermore, this change paves the way for smartwatches to support 4 GB of RAM or more—an amount that seems excessive now, but the increasing deployment of on-device local AI models will prove that assumption wrong.
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